System and method of associating  metadata with computing resources across multiple providers

ABSTRACT

Systems, apparatuses, and methods for modifying metadata associated with database objects obtained from providers, such as cloud providers, are disclosed. Modifying metadata associated with database objects obtained from cloud providers may include identifying resources in a computer network that originate from providers, such as cloud providers that do not have associated metadata. A user interface that includes the resources may be generated, and the resource may receive input to select the resources and a descriptor that may be associated with the resources. The selected resources may then be associated, in a configuration management dataset, with metadata derived from the selected descriptor. The metadata may indicate an association of the selected resources to a parameter.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/592,076, filed May 10, 2017, which claims the benefit of U.S.Provisional Application No. 62/416,520, filed Nov. 2, 2016, thedisclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference in theirentirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates in general to systems, methods, andapparatuses for modifying metadata associated with database objectsobtained from distributed computing environments including cloudproviders.

BACKGROUND

This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects ofart that may be related to various aspects of the present disclosure,which are described and/or claimed below. This discussion is believed tobe helpful in providing the reader with background information tofacilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the presentdisclosure. Accordingly, it should be understood that these statementsare to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.

Computer resources can be hosted on distributed computing environments,including cloud computing environments. Such resources, which caninclude hardware resources (e.g. server devices) and software resources(e.g. database applications that operate on the server devices), can beused to provide a variety of services to end-users and the computingdevices that interact with the distributed computing environment.

For example, a distributed computing environment can host aninfrastructure that is used for Information Technology OperationsManagement (“ITOM”). By using a distributed computing environment suchas a computing environment of one or more providers (e.g., cloudproviders), the client computing devices, server computing devices, andnetworking devices included in the infrastructure can be managed in amore scalable fashion. In this way, resources can be provisioned on anas-needed basis that accommodates fluctuations in demand for thoseresources.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The description herein makes reference to the accompanying drawings,wherein like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout theseveral views.

FIG. 1 is a diagram of an example of an electronic computing andcommunication system.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an example internal configuration of acomputing device of the electronic computing and communication systemshown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a diagram of an example of an electronic computing andcommunication system for modifying metadata associated with databaseobjects obtained from providers.

FIG. 4 is a diagram of an example of an electronic computing andcommunication system for modifying metadata associated with databaseobjects obtained from providers.

FIG. 5 is diagram of an example of an interface for a method formodifying metadata associated with database objects obtained fromproviders.

FIG. 6 is a logic flow chart illustrating an example of a method formodifying metadata associated with database objects obtained fromproviders.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In distributed network computing environments, it is useful to providedeclarative tags or other metadata for hardware and software resourcesprovisioned by one or more providers. An example of such metadataincludes tags associating a resource with a provider name, cost center,service, applications, or users. The additional information provided bymetadata facilitates day-to-day management of the resources as well asreconstruction of systems when malfunctions or other disasters strike.

While metadata is useful, it is sometimes missing, incomplete orinaccurate. For example, when resources or computing infrastructure areprovisioned by multiple providers, the providers may fail to use all ofthe desired metadata or may use metadata in different or inconsistentfashions. Also, pre-existing legacy resources, such as those withinbrown-field environments, may have missing, incomplete or inaccuratemetadata in regards to projects, cost centers, services, applications,users, or the like. Adding, correcting and updating metadata such astags is time-consuming work and prone to error.

The disclosed systems, methods, and non-transitory computer readablemedia, facilitate the association of complete, consistent, and accuratemetadata to resources in a distributed network computing environment,including resources provisioned by one or more different providers. Inaccordance with the present technologies described in detail below, asystem can perform discovery of a computer network to identify resourceson the network. In some cases, the resources that are identified arethose resources that have missing or incomplete metadata. Thisidentification can be agnostic in the sense that resources areidentified regardless of their provider or the provider of the platformon which they run. The system can generate a user interface thatdisplays at least some of the identified resources and provides amechanism for the user to select one or more of the displayed resourcesand to select one or more pieces of metadata. The system can associatethe selected resources with the selected pieces of metadata. Themetadata can indicate an association of the selected resources to aparameter which can include a service environment parameter relating tothe provisioning of resources in a computing network.

For example, the operator of a computer network may wish to associatecomputer resources with a particular application to facilitate themanagement of that application. This association can be accomplished bythe use of declarative tags or other metadata. For a variety of reasons,as explained above, some of the pertinent resources may lack tagsassociating the resource with the application. Also in accordance withthe present technologies, resources can be identified, and a userinterface that displays the resources can be generated withuser-actuated indicia (for example) to select one or more of theresources. A drop down list (for example) of tags can be displayed, eachdescribing an application (e.g., “payroll”) to which resources maypertain and a mechanism by which the user can select one of the tags(i.e., applications). With the resources and tag selected, animplementation permits the user to associate, in bulk, the selected tag(e.g., “payroll”) to the selected resources. Mechanisms can be providedto permit the user to select multiple tags, all of which can beassociated in bulk to the selected resources.

To describe some implementations in greater detail, reference is firstmade to examples of hardware structures. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of anexample of a system 100 in accordance with this disclosure. As usedherein, the term “electronic computing and communication system,” orvariations thereof, can be, or include, a distributed computing system,such as a client-server computing system, a cloud computing system, aclustered computing system, or the like.

The system 100 can include one or more customers 102, which may be apublic entity, private entity, or other corporate entity or individualthat purchases or otherwise uses services of a software provider. Thecustomer 102 can include one or more clients. For example, and withoutlimitation, the customer 102 can include a client 104. The client 104can comprise a computing system, which can include one or more computingdevices, such as a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, anotebook computer, a desktop computer, or any other suitable computingdevice or combination of computing devices. The client 104 can beimplemented as a single physical unit or a combination of physicalunits. Further, a single physical unit can include multiple clients.

The client 104 can be an instance of an application running on acustomer device associated with the customer 102. As used herein, theterm “application” can include, but is not limited to, applications,programs, instances, processes, threads, services, plugins, patches,application version upgrades, or any other identifiable computing unitcapable of accessing or interacting, directly or indirectly, with adatabase. The system 100 can include any number of customers or clientsor can have a configuration of customers or clients different from thatgenerally illustrated in FIG. 1. For example, and without limitation,the system 100 can include hundreds or thousands of customers and atleast some of the customers can include or be associated with any numberof clients. A customer can include a customer network or domain. Forexample, and without limitation, the client 104 can be associated orcommunicate with a customer network or domain.

The system 100 can include a datacenter 108. The datacenter 108 caninclude one or more servers. For example, and without limitation, thedatacenter 108, as generally illustrated, includes an application server112 and a database server 116. A datacenter, such as the datacenter 108,can represent a geographic location, which can include a facility, wherethe one or more servers are located. The system 100 can include anynumber of datacenters and servers or can include a configuration ofdatacenters and servers different from that generally illustrated inFIG. 1. For example, and without limitation, the system 100 can includetens of datacenters and at least some of the datacenters can includehundreds or any suitable number of servers. The datacenter 108 can beassociated or communicate with one or more datacenter networks ordomains, which can include domains other than the client domain.

The client 104 and the servers associated with the datacenter 108 areconfigured to connect to, or communicate via, a network 106.Furthermore, a client 104 associated with the customer 102 can connectto the network 106 via a communal connection point, link, or path. Aclient 104 can be associated with the customer 102, and the client 104can connect to, or communicate via, the network 106 using a distinctconnection point, link, or path. A connection point, link, or path canbe wired, wireless, or a combination thereof.

The network 106 can include, for example, the Internet. The network 106can be, or include, a local area network (LAN), a wide area network(WAN), a virtual private network (VPN), or any other public or privatemeans of electronic computer communication capable of transferring databetween a client, such as the client 104, and one or more serversassociated with the datacenter 108, or a combination thereof. Thenetwork 106, the datacenter 108, or any other element, or combination ofelements, of the system 100 can include network hardware such asrouters, switches, load balancers, other network devices, orcombinations thereof. For example, the datacenter 108 can include a loadbalancer 110 for routing traffic from the network 106 to various serversassociated with the datacenter 108.

The load balancer 110 can route, or direct, computing communicationtraffic, such as signals or messages, to respective elements of thedatacenter 108. For example, the load balancer 110 can operate as aproxy, or reverse proxy, for a service, such as an Internet-deliveredservice, provided by the datacenter 108 to one or more remote clients,such as the client 104, via the network 106. Routing functions of theload balancer 110 can be configured directly or via a Domain Name System(DNS). The load balancer 110 can coordinate requests from remoteclients, such as the client 104, and can simplify client access bymasking the internal configuration of the datacenter 108 from the remoteclients. Request coordination can include maintaining information forsessions, such as sticky sessions, between a client and a service orapplication provided by the datacenter 108.

Maintaining information for a sticky session can include maintaininginformation to forward requests associated with a session from a clientto an identified element of the datacenter 108 for the session. A loadbalancer 110 can operate as a firewall, allowing or preventingcommunications based on configuration settings. Although the loadbalancer 110 is depicted in FIG. 1 as being within the datacenter 108,the load balancer 110 can instead be located outside of the datacenter108, for example, when providing global routing for multipledatacenters. The load balancers can be included both within and outsideof the datacenter 108.

The datacenter 108 can include an application server 112 and a databaseserver 116. The application server 112 or the database server 116 can bea computing system, which can include one or more computing devices,such as a desktop computer, a server computer, or any other computercapable of operating as a server. The application server 112 or thedatabase server 116 can be non-hardware servers implemented on aphysical device, such as a hardware server. The application server 112and the database server 116 can be implemented as a single hardwareserver or as a single non-hardware server implemented on a singlehardware server. Any number of application servers or database serverscan be implemented at the datacenter 108, and the datacenter 108 caninclude servers other than or in addition to the application server 112or the database server 116, for example, a web server.

The application server 112 can include an application node 114, whichcan be a process executed on the application server 112. For example,and without limitation, the application node 114 can be executed inorder to deliver services to a client, such as the client 104, as partof a web application. The application node 114 can be implemented usingprocessing threads, virtual machine instantiations, or other computingfeatures of the application server 112. As an example, the applicationnode 114 can store, evaluate, or retrieve data from a database, such asthe database 118 of the database server 116.

The application server 112 can include any suitable number ofapplication nodes, depending upon a system load or other characteristicsassociated with the application server 112. For example, and withoutlimitation, the application server 112 can include two or more nodesforming a node cluster. The application nodes implemented on a singleone of the application server 112 may run on different hardware servers.

The database server 116 can be configured to store, manage, or otherwiseprovide data for delivering services to the client 104 over a network.The database server 116 may include a data storage unit, such as adatabase 118, which can be accessible by an application executed on theapplication node 114. The database 118 may be implemented as databasesuch as a relational database management system (RDBMS), an objectdatabase, an extensible markup language (XML) database, a configurationmanagement database (CMDB), a management information base (MIB), one ormore flat files, or other suitable non-transient storage mechanisms. Byway of non-limiting example, the system 100 can include an XML databaseand a CMDB. While limited examples are described, the database 118 canbe configured as or comprise any suitable database type. Further, thesystem 100 can include one, two, three, or any suitable number ofdatabases configured as or comprising any suitable database type orcombination thereof.

The database 118 can be configured as, or comprise, a CMDB. A CMDB canbe comprised of a plurality of configuration items (CIs), attributesassociated with the CIs, or relationships between CIs. A CI can be aCMDB record that represents an infrastructure entity, device, or unitsof the system 100. For example, the customer 102, the client 104, thenetwork 106, the datacenter 108, the load balancer 110, the applicationserver 112, the application node 114, the database server 116, thedatabase 118, or any other element, portion of an element, orcombination of elements of the system 100 can be represented in the CMDBby a CI.

The CMDB can include information describing the configuration, the role,or both the configuration and the role, of an element of the system 100.The MIB can include one or more databases listing characteristics of theelements of the system 100. Further, an object identifier (OID) canrepresent object identifiers of objects or elements in the MIB.

One or more databases (e.g., the database 118), tables, other suitableinformation sources, or portions or combinations thereof, may be stored,managed, or otherwise provided by one or more of the elements of thesystem 100 other than the database server 116, such as the client 104 orthe application server 112.

Some or all of the systems and methods described herein can operate orbe executed on or by the servers associated with the system 100. Forexample, an update for an application executed on the application node114 can include updating or upgrading the database 118. The systems andmethods described herein, portions thereof, or combinations thereof, canbe implemented on a single device, such as a single server, or acombination of devices, for example, a combination of the client 104,the application server 112, and the database server 116.

The system 100 can include devices other than the client 104, the loadbalancer 110, the application node 114, and the database server 116 asgenerally illustrated in FIG. 1. One or more additional servers canoperate as an electronic computing and communications systeminfrastructure control, from which servers, clients, or both servers andclients, can be monitored, controlled, configured, or a combinationthereof.

The network 106, one or more datacenters, such as the datacenter 108,and one or more load balancers, such as the load balancer 110, may beimplemented within a distributed computing system. A load balancerassociated with a distributed computing system (e.g., the load balancer110) can communicate with the network 106, one or more datacenters(e.g., the datacenter 108), other load balancers, or a combinationthereof. The load balancer 110 can be configured to route communicationsto a primary datacenter, identify a failover condition (e.g., such as anenumerated failover condition) at the primary datacenter, and redirectcommunications to a secondary datacenter until the failover condition isresolved. Although illustrated as a single unit in FIG. 1, a loadbalancer 110 can be implemented as multiple physical or logical units.For example, a distributed computing system can include distinct routingunits, load balancing units, firewall units, or the like.

The primary datacenter can include a primary database, such as thedatabase 118, and the secondary datacenter can include a secondarydatabase. The secondary database can include an exact or substantiallyexact mirror, copy, or replication of the primary database. The primarydatabase or the secondary database can be implemented as an RDBMS, anobject database, an XML database, one or more flat files, or the like.

An application node implemented within a distributed computingenvironment can connect to or communicate with the primary database,which can be associated with the datacenter with which the applicationnode is associated, or associated with another datacenter. For example,a primary datacenter can include a primary database and a first set ofapplication nodes. A secondary datacenter can include a secondarydatabase and a second set of application nodes. The application nodes ofthe first and second sets can provide a service or application to remoteclients, and can read or write data in the primary database. Thesecondary database can mirror changes made to the primary database andprevent write operations from being performed directly on the secondarydatabase. In the event that a failover condition associated with theprimary database is identified, the secondary database can operate asthe primary database and can allow read or write access to data. Theprimary database can then operate as the secondary database, mirror thenew primary database, and prevent direct write access to the newsecondary database.

A distributed computing system can allocate resources of a computernetwork using a multi-tenant or single-tenant architecture, for example.Allocating resources in a multi-tenant architecture can includeinstallations or instantiations of one or more servers, such asapplication servers, database servers, or any other server, orcombination of servers, that can be shared amongst multiple customers.For example, a web server, such as a unitary Apache installation; anapplication server, such as a unitary Java Virtual Machine; and a singledatabase server catalog, such as a unitary MySQL catalog, can handlerequests from multiple customers. In a multi-tenant architecture, theapplication server, the database server, or both can distinguish betweenand segregate data or other information of the various customers usingthe system.

In a single-tenant infrastructure (which can also be referred to as amulti-instance architecture), separate web servers, application servers,database servers, or combinations thereof can be provisioned for atleast some customers or customer sub-units. Customers or customersub-units can access one or more dedicated web servers, havetransactions processed using one or more dedicated application servers,or have data stored in one or more dedicated database servers, catalogs,or both. Physical hardware servers can be shared such that multipleinstallations or instantiations of web servers, application servers,database servers, or combinations thereof, can be installed on the samephysical server. An installation can be allocated a portion of thephysical server resources, such as RAM, storage, communicationsbandwidth, or processor cycles.

A customer instance can include multiple web server instances, multipleapplication server instances, multiple database server instances, or acombination thereof. The server instances can be physically located ondifferent physical servers and can share resources of the differentphysical servers with other server instances associated with othercustomer instances. In a distributed computing system, multiple customerinstances can be used concurrently. Other configurations orimplementations of customer instances can also be used. The use ofcustomer instances in a single-tenant architecture can provide, forexample, true data isolation from other customer instances, advancedhigh availability to permit continued access to customer instances inthe event of a failure, flexible upgrade schedules, an increased abilityto customize the customer instance, or a combination thereof.

FIG. 2 generally illustrates a block diagram of an example internalconfiguration of a computing device 200, such as a client 104 or aserver, such as an application server 112 or a database server 116, ofthe electronic computing and communication system 100 as generallyillustrated in FIG. 1. As previously described, a client or server canbe a computing system including multiple computing devices or a singlecomputing device, such as a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a laptopcomputer, a notebook computer, a desktop computer, a server computer, orother suitable computing devices.

A computing device 200 can include components or units, such as aprocessor 202, a bus 204, a memory 206, peripherals 214, a power source216, a network communication unit 218, a user interface 220, othersuitable components, or a combination thereof.

The processor 202 can be a central processing unit (CPU), such as amicroprocessor, and can include single or multiple processors havingsingle or multiple processing cores. Alternatively, the processor 202can include another type of device, or multiple devices, now-existing orhereafter developed capable of manipulating or processing information.For example, the processor 202 can include multiple processorsinterconnected in any manner, including hardwired or networked,including wirelessly networked. The operations of the processor 202 canbe distributed across multiple physical devices or units that can becoupled directly or across a local area or other suitable type ofnetwork. The processor 202 can include a cache, or cache memory, forlocal storage of operating data or instructions.

The memory 206 can include volatile memory, non-volatile memory, or acombination thereof. For example, the memory 206 can include volatilememory, such as one or more DRAM modules such as DDR, SDRAM, andnon-volatile memory, such as a disk drive, a solid state drive, flashmemory, Phase-Change Memory (PCM), or any form of non-volatile memorycapable of persistent electronic information storage, such as in theabsence of an active power supply. The memory 206 can include anothertype of device, or multiple devices, now-existing or hereafter developedcapable of storing data or instructions for processing by the processor202. The processor 202 can access or manipulate data in the memory 206via the bus 204. Although shown as a single block in FIG. 2, the memory206 can be implemented as multiple units. For example, a computingdevice 200 can include volatile memory, such as RAM, and persistentmemory, such as a hard drive or other storage.

The memory 206 can include executable instructions 208, data, such asapplication data 210, an operating system 212, or a combination thereof,for immediate access by the processor 202. The executable instructions208 can include, for example, one or more application programs, whichcan be loaded or copied, in whole or in part, from non-volatile memoryto volatile memory to be executed by the processor 202. The executableinstructions 208 can be organized into programmable modules oralgorithms, functional programs, codes, code segments, or combinationsthereof, to perform various functions described herein. For example, theexecutable instructions 208 can include instructions to associatediscovered resources of a computer network with metadata indicative ofparameters, such as those identifying third-party computing providersfrom which those resources are made available. The application data 210can include, for example, user files, database catalogs or dictionaries,configuration information or functional programs, such as a web browser,a web server, a database server, or a combination thereof. The operatingsystem 212 can be, for example, Microsoft Windows®, Mac OS X®, orLinux®, an operating system for a small device, such as a smartphone ortablet device; or an operating system for a large device, such as amainframe computer. The memory 206 can comprise one or more devices andcan utilize one or more types of storage, such as solid state ormagnetic storage.

The peripherals 214 can be coupled to the processor 202 via the bus 204.The peripherals can be sensors or detectors, or devices containing anynumber of sensors or detectors, which can monitor the computing device200 itself or the environment around the computing device 200. Forexample, a computing device 200 can contain a geospatial locationidentification unit, such as a global positioning system (GPS) locationunit. As another example, a computing device 200 can contain atemperature sensor for measuring temperatures of components of thecomputing device 200, such as the processor 202. Other sensors ordetectors can be used with the computing device 200 as can becontemplated. The power source 216 can be a battery, and the computingdevice 200 can operate independently of an external power distributionsystem. Any of the components of the computing device 200, such as theperipherals 214 or the power source 216, can communicate with theprocessor 202 via the bus 204.

The network communication unit 218 can also be coupled to the processor202 via the bus 204. The network communication unit 218 can comprise oneor more transceivers. The network communication unit 218 can, forexample, provide a connection or link to a network, such as the network106, via a network interface, which can be a wired network interface,such as Ethernet, or a wireless network interface. For example, thecomputing device 200 can communicate with other devices via the networkcommunication unit 218 and the network interface using one or morenetwork protocols, such as Ethernet, TCP, IP, power line communication(PLC), WiFi, infrared, GPRS, GSM, CDMA, or other suitable protocols.

A user interface 220 can include a display; a positional input device,such as a mouse, touchpad, touchscreen, or the like; a keyboard; orother suitable human or machine interface devices. The user interface220 can be coupled to the processor 202 via the bus 204. Other interfacedevices that permit a user to program or otherwise use the computingdevice 200 can be provided in addition to or as an alternative to adisplay. The user interface 220 can include a display, which can be aliquid crystal display (LCD), a cathode-ray tube (CRT), a light emittingdiode (LED) display, an organic light emitting diode display (OLED), orother suitable display.

A client or server can omit the peripherals 214. The operations of theprocessor 202 can be distributed across multiple servers and clientswhich can be coupled directly or across a local area or other suitabletype of network. The memory 206 can be distributed across multipleservers and clients, such as network-based memory or memory in multipleservers and clients performing the operations of clients or servers.Although depicted here as a single bus, the bus 204 can be composed ofmultiple buses, which can be connected to each other through variousbridges, controllers, or adapters.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an example of an electronic computing andcommunication system 300 for modifying metadata associated with databaseobjects obtained from providers, such as cloud providers. As usedherein, a “database object obtained from a provider” means a databaserepresentation (e.g., a configuration item in a configuration managementdataset) of the resource (e.g., a resource 312, 314, 322, and/or 324)where the resource is provisioned from the provider as described withrespect to FIG. 4.

The electronic computing and communication system 300 can include: oneor more environments such as an environment 310, which includes theresource 312 and the resource 314; an environment 320, which includesthe resource 322 and the resource 324; a management server device 330;and a network 340. The management server device 330 may include, or bein communication with, the configuration management dataset, including aCMDB 350. The CMDB 350 may include CIs 352 that may be associated withmetadata 354. One or more of the environment 310, the environment 320,and the management server device 330 may exchange (transmit or receive)signals including messages, data, or packets, via the network 340. Themanagement server device 330 can be, or can be operable in, theapplication node 114 of FIG. 1. The configuration management dataset canbe (partially or completely), or can be part of, the database 118 ofFIG. 1.

The environment 310 can include one or more resources, such as theresource 312 or the resource 314. The resources 312 and/or 314 mayinclude a collection or grouping of hardware or software resources suchas computing devices (e.g. server computing devices, client computingdevices, networking devices) and software which may be used to representa computing infrastructure which can exchange (transmit or receive) orstore data, process events, or provide services to requesting devices.

As an example, the environments 310 and/or 320 may include a customerservice environment which may be used to represent a customer serviceinfrastructure such as a help desk environment, which may provideservices, such as processing requests from client computing devices. Theenvironments 310 and/or 320 can, partially or completely, result fromprovisioning of resources of a provider. A provider, such as a provider430 and/or 440, is described further with respect to FIG. 4.

Resources, such as the resource 312, 314, 322, and/or 324, may include:hardware resources such as server computing devices, client computingdevices, processors, memory, storage devices, networking devices, orpower supplies; software resources including instructions executable bythe hardware resources such as application software or firmware; virtualresources such as virtual machines or virtual storage devices; andstorage constructs such as data files, data directories, or storagemodels. The resources may include a combination of physical resources orvirtual resources.

The management server device 330 may provision, or cause to beprovisioned by one or more providers, resources of the one or moreproviders to the environments 310 and/or 320. The resources of theproviders can include applications, storage, network resources, servers,virtual servers, and the like. For example, the resource 312 of theenvironment 310 may be an application instance (i.e., an instance of anapplication resource), resulting from the provisioning (e.g.,instantiating) of the application resource of a provider. As anotherexample, the resource 314 may be a storage device allocated to theenvironment 310 from another provider. As such, an environment, such asthe environment 310 and/or 320 may include or utilize resources from oneor more providers.

The management server device 330 may create or modify metadata, such astags, which may be associated with the resources in the environment 310or the environment 320.

The management server device 330 may include, or be in communicationwith, a database such as the CMDB 350 which may include data such as theCIs 352. At least some of the CIs 352 may be associated with some of themetadata 354. The CMDB 350 may be populated based on, for example, adiscovery process which may be used to discover resources. Further, thediscovery process may include determining the properties (i.e.,attributes) of resources such as the resources 312 or 314 in theenvironment 310. Some of the attributes can be associated to theresources via the metadata 354. Alternatively, or additionally, metadata354 can be created based on the attributes.

The CMDB 350 may be organized as a database such as an RDBMS, anobject-oriented database (e.g. an XML database), a network modeldatabase, or a flat-file database. The CMDB 350 can be, or can beoperable in, the database 118 of FIG. 1. The CIs 352 may include dataindicating properties or attributes of the corresponding resources 312,314, 322, and/or 324 including dependency relationships betweenresources 312, 314, 322, and/or 324. As an example, resources such asthe resources 312 and 314 may be discovered by an agent software (suchas an agent 422 of FIG. 4), which may operate as or in a separatedevice, in conjunction with the management server device 330, or on themanagement server device 330.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an example of an electronic computing andcommunication system 400 for modifying metadata associated with databaseobjects obtained from providers, such as cloud providers.

The electronic computing and communication system 400 can include: amanagement server device 410; a customer environment 420, which caninclude the agent 422; a provider 430; and a provider 440. Themanagement server device 410, the customer environment 420, the provider430, and the provider 440 may exchange (send or receive) communicationtraffic such as signals, messages, or packets, via a network 450. Themanagement server device 410 can be the management server device 330 ofFIG. 3.

The provider 430 and/or 440 provides resources that can be shared and/oraccessed via the Internet. The provider 430 and/or 440 can be a cloudprovider. The provider 430 and/or 440 can have and/or manage a largenumber of computing devices that are configured to execute variousprograms, such as application servers, web servers, or database servers.Computing resources provided by the provider 430 and/or 440, such asapplication, storage, and network resources can be provisioned,allocated, instantiated, or otherwise made available (collectivelyreferred to as “provisioning” or “provision”) to a customer (such as thecustomer 102 of FIG. 1) on one or more computing devices of thecomputing infrastructure of the provider. A provider can be aplatform-as-a-service (PaaS), an infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS), asoftware-as-a-service (SaaS), or the like, provider.

The customer environment 410 can include networks and/or devicescontrolled (wholly or partially) by a customer, such as the customer 102of FIG. 1. The customer can be, for example, a customer of a provider.For example, the customer environment can include networks, devices,and/or software under the control of a customer operating aninfrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) service, for example, cloud computinginstances implemented using resources of the provider 430 and/or 440,but controlled by the customer. The customer environment can include theenvironment 310 and/or 320 of FIG. 3.

The agent 422 can be configured to communicate, via the network 450,with the management server device 410 on a periodic or non-periodic(e.g., event triggered) basis to retrieve commands and informationprovided by the management server device 410 and to be processed by theagent 422. For example, the agent 422 can send a request to themanagement server device 410 every predetermined time period (e.g.,every 60 seconds) requesting that the management server device 410transmit any messages awaiting receipt or processing by the agent 422.The command can be a command to perform a discovery activity. The agent422 can return the result of the discovery activity to the managementserver device 410. The result can include information (e.g., metadata ortags) regarding a resource (e.g., the resource 312, 314, 322, and/or324), an environment (e.g., the environment 310 and/or 320), or acombination therefore. The result can include other information.

The management server device 410 may manage resources that aremaintained by the customer environment 420, the provider 430, or theprovider 440 via the network 450. The management server device 410 mayexchange data with a provider, such as a cloud provider, the provider430, or the provider 440, in order to determine the applicationprogramming interface (API) that is used by the respective provider. Themanagement server device 410 may then perform activities includingdiscovering, provisioning, allocating, or modifying resources, such asthe resources 312, 314, 322, and/or 324, in the customer environment420, the provider 430, or the provider 440.

The management server device 410 can use templates for providers 430and/or 430 to discover, provision, allocate, or modify respectiveresources in the customer environment 420. A template can include one ormore APIs of the respective provider for obtaining, and/or setting,information associated with one or more resources in the customerenvironment 420. An administrator or other user of the customerenvironment 420 can generate or otherwise define a template for aresource (e.g., the resource 312, 314, 322, and/or 324 of FIG. 3), or anenvironment (e.g., the environment 310 and/or 320 of FIG. 3) of thecustomer environment 420 using information stored in a CMDB, such as theCMDB 350 of FIG. 3, of the customer environment. The information storedin the CMDB (i.e., CMDB information) can include CIs 352 of FIG. 3. TheCMDB information can provide a link between how resources are identifiedwithin the customer environment 420 and how they are identified by aprovider (e.g., the provider 430 or 440). Generating or otherwisedefining a template for a resource may include selecting values from alist of CMDB information to be associated with API calls made to aprovider. The management server device 410 can use the selected valuesof a template to automate the identification of a resource within theCMDB based on information obtained from API calls made to a provider.

As described above, the agent 422 in the customer environment 420 canperform activities in the customer environment 420 in response to arequest by a user (such as a user of the customer environment 420 or auser of the management server device 410) or another entity such asanother agent or software application. As an example, the agent 422 mayreceive a query requesting the identity of a user authorized to access aparticular resource or a query for the identity of the API that is usedby a resource to access a particular provider. In response to the query,the agent 422 may then determine the user identity or API identity andprovide a response to the management server device 410.

The providers 430 and 440 may include distributed computing resourcessuch as cloud resources that include network services (e.g.applications) or infrastructure (e.g. storage devices) that areaccessible through a computer network such as the network 450.

FIG. 5 is a diagram of an example of an interface 500 for modifyingmetadata associated with database objects obtained from providers suchas cloud providers.

The interface 500 for modifying metadata associated with databaseobjects obtained from a provider, such as the provider 430 and/or 440 ofFIG. 4, can include at least one of: a resource descriptor 510; ametadata descriptor 512; an aggregate selection indicator 514 toindicate that all of the resources and associated metadata are selected;a selection indicator 516 to indicate that one resource and associatedmetadata are selected; an unselected indicator 518 to indicate that oneresource and associated metadata are not selected; and a bulk metadatasubmission control 520 to initiate bulk association of the metadata tothe selected resource indicators such as the resource descriptor 510.

The interface 500 may be generated based on one or more instructions,which may be stored in a server computing device. As an example, theinterface for a web page may be generated by a server computing device,based on instructions that include hypertext markup language (HTML),which may be interpreted by a client computing device that accesses theserver computing device and generates a graphical representation of theinterface 500 on an output device such as an LCD monitor. The elementsof the interface 500 may be based on data associated with the conditionor status of resources, such as the resources 312, 314, 322, and/or 324of FIG. 3, such as may be determined based on processes such as anetwork discovery process or through querying one or more configurationitem tables in a CMDB, such as querying the CIs 352 of the CMDB 350 ofFIG. 3.

A resource indicator, such as the resource descriptor 510 may beassociated with a resource (e.g., the resource 312, 314, 322, and/or 324of FIG. 3) in an environment (e.g., the environment 310 and/or 320 ofFIG. 3). Some of the elements indicated in the interface 500, such asthe aggregate selection indicator 514, may be selected by a user toindicate that the resource corresponding to the resource descriptor 510will be associated with the metadata descriptor 512. Metadata indicatorssuch as the metadata descriptor 512 may receive input to select metadatato associate with the corresponding resource. As an example, themetadata descriptor 512 indicates that a “METADATA 1” will be associatedwith the “RESOURCE 1” indicated by resource descriptor 510. However,different metadata (not shown) may be selected based on a userinteraction such as clicking and selecting different metadata from adrop down list. The resource descriptor 510 may correspond to a resourcedescriptor that is not exactly the same as the resource descriptor 510(e.g. “resource 001445” may correspond to “resource_001445” as well as“resource 001445”). Moreover, the metadata descriptor 512 may correspondto a resource descriptor that is not exactly the same as the metadatadescriptor 512. For example, even though the value “METADATA 1,” isdisplayed in and/or can be selected through the interface 500, the value“METADATA 1” may correspond to a value “meta-542” with respect to aprovider (e.g., the provider 430 of FIG. 4) as well as to “metadata 542”with respect to another provider (e.g., the provider 440 of FIG. 4).“Correspond” can mean converted to, mapped to, looked up by provider, orthe like. The displayed value “METADATA 1” can be corresponded to aprovider-specific value via a respective API of the provider.

Selecting the metadata descriptor 512 may generate a listing of apredetermined metadata that may include at least one of: providers; costcenters; departments; projects; services; applications; and users. Theuser may then select and click on one or more applicable predeterminedmetadata, thereby indicating that the predetermined metadata selected bythe user will be associated with the corresponding resource. Forexample, to associate a “cost center” metadata with a resource (e.g.,the resource 322 of FIG. 3) corresponding to the resource descriptor510, the user may select the metadata data descriptor 512 to generate alisting of predetermined metadata which includes the “cost center”metadata. The user can then select the “cost center” predeterminedmetadata and provide a value, e.g., “VR R&D.” As such, upon invoking thebulk metadata submission control 520, the metadata “cost center” havingthe value “VR R&D” can be associated to the resource. By providing theuser with predetermined metadata, the selectable metadata descriptionscan be consistent across resources included in the interface 500.

The aggregate selection indicator 514 may be used to select all of theresource indicators presented in the interface 500. Association ofmetadata to some or all of the selected resources may be initiatedthrough a user interaction with the bulk metadata submission control520.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a technique 600 for modifying metadataassociated with database objects obtained from providers, such as cloudproviders, in an electronic computing and communication system, such asthe system 100 of FIG. 1. A technique 600 can be executed usingcomputing devices, such as the systems, modules, and devices describedwith respect to FIGS. 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. The technique 600 can beperformed, for example, by executing a machine-readable program or othercomputer-executable instructions, such as instructions or programsdescribed according to JavaScript, C, or other such instructions. Thesteps, or operations, of the technique 600 or any other method, process,or algorithm described in connection with the implementations disclosedherein can be implemented directly in hardware, firmware, softwareexecuted by hardware, circuitry, or a combination thereof.

The technique 600 can include: identifying resources at operation 602;determining the resources that are not associated with metadata atoperation 604; determining the APIs associated with the metadata atoperation 606; generating a user interface at operation 608; associatingmetadata with resources at operation 610; and processing an eventassociated with an environment at operation 612.

At operation 602, in response to the performance of a network discoveryof a computer network, a set of resources (e.g., the resources 312, 314,322, 324 of FIG. 3 or a subset thereof) is identified within a computernetwork. The network discovery may include exchanging (sending orreceiving) signals, such as data packets, through the computer network,to determine the existence, status, attributes, and/or identity of anyresources connected to the network. The computer network may include avariety of different providers that provide different subsets of theresources and the different providers may include cloud storageproviders or cloud services providers. As an example, the set ofresources can include a subset of resources of the set of resources thatcan originate from a provider and another subset of resources of the setof resources that can originate from another provider. For example, thesubset of resources can include the resource 312 which can haveoriginated from the provider 430; and the other subset of resources caninclude the resource 314 which can have originated from the provider440. Further, additional sets of resources can originate from acombination including the same provider or a different provider. Forexample, the subset of resources can include the resources 312, 322, and324 which can have originated from the provider 430; and the othersubset of resources can include the resource 314 which can haveoriginated from the provider 440.

At operation 604, a set of resources, such as the set of resources thatis not associated with metadata, such as a tag, is determined. Thedetermination of which resources do not have metadata may include:comparing data associated with a resource to stored data. The dataassociated with the resource can include the attributes of the resourceobtained via the operation 602. The stored data can be records in aconfiguration management dataset (e.g. a database, such as a CMDB 350 ofFIG. 3). The stored data can include a listing of resources andassociated metadata that describe the state of the resources including astored status, stored attributes, or a stored identity of the resources.The listing of resources can include configuration items correspondingto the resources. The stored status, stored attributes, and/or storedidentity of a resource may be different than the status, attributes, andidentity obtained via the operation 602.

The technique 600 may determine, via the operation 604, that theresource (e.g., the resource 312 of FIG. 3) corresponding to theresource descriptor 510 of FIG. 5 is not associated with metadata. Aresource is determined not to be associated with metadata if, forexample, the resource is associated with metadata that is notappropriate for the resource; the metadata is incomplete (e.g., theresource is associated with a “department” metadata but is notassociated with a “cost center” metadata); no metadata is associatedwith the resource; or the resource is associated with metadata that isto be modified (e.g., the resource is associated with the metadata “costcenter” having a value of “R&D VR” which is to be modified to“Marketing, Western Europe.” Other semantics for determining that aresource has no metadata can be available.

The resource descriptor 510 can correspond to a resource (e.g., theresource 312, 314, 322, and/or 324 of FIG. 3) determined via theoperation 604. The metadata descriptor 512 of FIG. 5 can display themetadata of the resource as stored in the stored data. The metadatadescriptor 512 can display discrepancies between the stored data andproperties of the resource obtained (e.g., differences) via theoperation 602. Other information can be displayed in or by the metadatadescriptor 512.

Resources without metadata may be determined by querying the resources(directly or indirectly), such as with polling, or through an agentassociated with the computer network for the identity of the resourceswithin the computer network. For example, an agent, such as the agent422 of FIG. 4, may be configured to search for resources, determinewhether the resource is associated with metadata, and return a responseto a query requesting the status of metadata for a resource orcollection of resources in an environment such as a service environment.

At operation 606, an API, or an identity of an API, associated with themetadata may be determined based on a comparison of attributes of theconfiguration item data to attributes associated with resources, such asthe set of resources. As an example, the attributes of the configurationitem data may include at least one of an entity (e.g., a user or agroup) authorized to access resources and a lease attribute to indicatea time interval of resource availability. Other attributes can beavailable. The configuration items data can include constraintinformation such as, for example, a maximum metadata length attributeincluding an indication of a maximum length of a metadata attribute, aminimum metadata length attribute including an indication of a minimumlength of a metadata attribute, a string format attribute to indicatethat the metadata attribute is in the form of a string, a metadatanumber format attribute to indicate the number format (e.g. integer orfloating point) of metadata, or other constraints. For example, aconstraint can indicate that for a first provider (e.g., the provider430 of FIG. 4), a resource (e.g., the resource 314 of FIG. 3) can haveno more than ten metadata assigned. For example, a constraint canindicate that for a second provider (e.g., the provider 440 of FIG. 4),attributes cannot be prefixed with the value “xyz:.” For example, aconstraint can indicate that the maximum length of a metadata attributefor the second provider is 255 characters.

The identity of the API may be determined by: querying a provider, suchas a cloud provider; searching records in a lookup table that includesAPIs and associated resource data; or manual entry of the API, such asby a user selecting an API in a metadata association interface such asthe interface 500 illustrated in FIG. 5.

By determining the API that is associated with the set of resources,mismatching of metadata to resources (e.g. associating metadata to aresource according to the API of the wrong cloud provider) may bereduced or avoided. As an example, if the configuration item data for aparticular API has a resource group attribute that is in a particularformat, such as an integer format of a particular length (e.g. afive-integer long identifier such as “29877”), then a resource groupattribute “department seven” (which is textual not numeric) or aresource group attribute “298770” (that is six-integers long, notfive-integers long) would be determined to be from a different API.

At operation 608, a user interface is generated and includes adescriptor or an indication (such as a graphical or audible output) of aset of resources such as the set of resources that was identified ordiscovered. The user interface may be configured to receive inputincluding an input to select: a resource such as one or more of the setof resources; a descriptor of one or more of the resources; or adescriptor of various metadata including metadata derived from thedescriptor.

The user interface may be generated by a computing device such as aserver computing device that processes instructions for generating theinterface. As an example, the server computing device may generate theinterface based on instructions such HTML instructions, which may bereceived and interpreted by a client computing device that may thenoutput the interface to an output device (e.g. an LCD display) which maydisplay the interface in a web page displayed on the output device.

The user interface may be presented or displayed on an input device thatis able to receive input to modify the user interface or the contentpresented in the user interface. The inputs to the input device mayinclude at least one of: haptic inputs, such as a touch on a touchscreen display; and audible inputs, such as spoken words that may bereceived by a microphone.

The user interface may include indications, such as descriptors, of theset of resources or metadata, such as graphical displays, which may beorganized or arranged to indicate an association with the correspondingmetadata. As an example, the association between the set of resourcesand the corresponding metadata may be displayed in a variety of waysincluding: listing the set of resources in the same row or column as thecorresponding metadata (as illustrated in FIG. 5); or generating avisual indication, such as a surrounding border or connecting lines, toindicate the association between the set of resources and thecorresponding metadata. Further, the user interface may include agraphical summary of the resources and corresponding metadata, such as amissing metadata report (e.g. missing tag report), which may include anindication of: a resource provider identity, such as a cloud providername; cost centers associated with resources; projects associated withresources; services associated with resources; applications associatedwith resources; or users associated with resources.

The user interface may include one or more descriptors that areassociated or derived from a set of metadata that may be associated withone or more resources. The one or more descriptors may includedescriptors for at least one of: a provider, such as cloud provider; acost center; a department; a project; a service; an application; and auser. In this way, a user may easily associate metadata with resourcesby using, for example, a drop down list with the indicatorscorresponding to the predetermined set of metadata.

Further, the generated interface can present the metadata and resourcesin a platform agnostic or cloud agnostic manner so that metadata andresources from disparate sources (e.g. different cloud providers, APIs,or environments) may be presented in a single interface.

At operation 610, a portion of the resources, such as the selected onesof the set of resources, can be associated with metadata derived fromthe selected descriptor. The metadata may indicate an association ofresources, such as the selected ones of the set of resources, to one ormore parameters. As an example, the one or more parameters can berelated to or associated with at least one of: a provider, a costcenter, a department, a project, a service, an application, a user, oranother parameter relating to the provisioning of resources.

Further, the metadata derived from the selected descriptor may beassociated with additional metadata. As an example, a descriptor for anaccounting department may be displayed within a user interface as“accounting department,” and may be associated with additional metadataincluding descriptors such as “main accounting department,” “centralaccounting department,” or “ACCT. DEPT.” Accordingly, the associationbetween the selected descriptor and the metadata may include metadatathat is the same or similar to the selected descriptor.

The association of the resources to the metadata may include creating ormodifying data that indicates a relationship between the resources andthe metadata. The indication of the metadata may correspond to CI data,stored in a configuration management dataset (e.g. a CMDB), thatindicates the association between the resources and the metadata in anenvironment of the computer network.

Configuration item data, including an association between each of theresources of the set of resources and the metadata, may be generatedbased on processes such as network discovery processes. Theconfiguration item data may then be stored in one or more configurationmanagement databases. In this way, the metadata may be used to managethe resources including tracking, provisioning, allocating, ordiscovering the resources. Associating the resources with theconfiguration item data may include modifying the configuration itemdata in a configuration management dataset to indicate that the resourceis associated with corresponding metadata.

The resources, such as the set of resources, may be compared to theconfiguration item data in the configuration management dataset. As anexample, based on a degree of matching or similarity between theresources and the corresponding configuration item data, resources thatmeet a similarity criterion or exceed a similarity threshold may beassociated with corresponding metadata. As such the association of themetadata to the set of resources may be based on the comparison betweenthe set of resources and the configuration item data. As an example,metadata may be associated with resources in a brown-field environment(e.g. legacy environment) in which discovered resources may not be(e.g., at the time of discovery) associated with correspondingapplications, projects, cost centers, or users via, e.g., metadata suchas tags.

Resources, such as a portion of the set of resources, may be organizedor grouped into one or more groups based on the parameter. The groupingof the resources may be based on the resources in the groups having incommon some metadata that includes the same or similar properties,values, or attributes. As an example, resources associated with metadatathat includes a service department property to indicate the servicedepartment to which the resources are associated may indicate that oneset of the resources is associated with a first service department (e.g.technical support) and that another set of resources is associated witha second service department (e.g. accounting). In this way, theresources may be grouped according to the metadata associated with theresources, thereby facilitating activities such as bulk association ofmetadata to resources.

Moreover, the resources may be grouped according to the parameter whichcan relate to the provisioning of resources and can include parametersrelating to, or associated with, at least one of: a provider to identitya provider such as a cloud services provider or a cloud provider; a costcenter to identify a unit in an organization to which costs may beallocated; a department; a project; a service; an application; and auser such as the name of a user or a group of users.

The groups may be platform agnostic or cloud agnostic so that themetadata associated with the resources are not wholly or partly, limitedto one platform or a subset of platforms such as a single serviceplatform, a cloud provider platform, or an application programminginterface. Moreover, by associating resources with metadata or groupingresources with metadata in a platform or cloud agnostic manner, thecorrect metadata may be associated with the resources regardless ofwhere the resources are located.

At operation 612, an event, such as an event associated with theenvironment of the computer network or an action that occurs in theenvironment, may be processed using a superset of resources includingthe set of resources and another set of resources that is provisioned tothe computer network with metadata associated with the environment. Asan example, an event may be related to one or more activities that occurin the environment and can include an action, alert, or notification(e.g. an alert message when a network condition is satisfied).

As an example, an application or hardware failure may trigger an eventsuch as an alert of the failed application or hardware. Further, aprocess such as an impact calculation may be performed on the computernetwork in order to determine how a change in the provisioning orallocation of resources will impact the operation of the computernetwork. However, if the higher-level identity of resources (such as thedepartment that is authorized to use a resource) is not known, then theimpact calculation will be imprecise. As such, configuration item datathat is associated with a superset of resources may be used to determinethe identity of the resources that are unknown.

Accordingly, the disclosed technology may provide more effectivemanagement of resources, including cloud provider resources, throughenhanced association of metadata with resources, such as bulk tagging.

Although the technique 600 is shown as a series of operations forclarity, implementations of the technique 600 or any other technique,process, or algorithm described in connection with the implementationsdisclosed herein can be performed in various orders or concurrently.Additionally, operations in accordance with this disclosure can beperformed with other operations not presented and described herein.Furthermore, one or more aspects of the systems and techniques describedherein can be omitted.

All or a portion of the aspects of the systems and techniques describedherein can be implemented using a general purpose computer/processorwith a computer program that, when executed, carries out any of therespective techniques, algorithms, or instructions described herein. Inaddition, or alternatively, for example, a special-purposecomputer/processor can be utilized, which can contain specializedhardware for carrying out any of the techniques, algorithms, orinstructions described herein.

The implementations of computing devices as described herein (and thealgorithms, techniques, instructions, etc., stored thereon or executedthereby) can be realized in hardware, software, or a combinationthereof. The hardware can include, for example, computers, intellectualproperty (IP) cores, application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs),programmable logic arrays, optical processors, programmable logiccontrollers, microcode, microcontrollers, servers, microprocessors,digital signal processors or any other suitable circuit. In the claims,the term “processor” should be understood as encompassing any of theforegoing hardware, either singly or in combination.

For example, one or more computing devices can include an ASIC orprogrammable logic array, such as a field-programmable gate array (FPGA)configured as a special-purpose processor to perform one or more of theoperations described or claimed herein. An example FPGA can include acollection of logic blocks and random access memory (RAM) blocks thatcan be individually configured or configurably interconnected in orderto cause the FPGA to perform certain functions. Certain FPGAs cancontain other general- or special-purpose blocks as well. An exampleFPGA can be programmed based on a hardware definition language (HDL)design, such as VHSIC Hardware Description Language or Verilog.

The embodiments herein can be described in terms of functional blockcomponents and various processing operations. Such functional blockcomponents can be realized by any number of hardware or softwarecomponents that perform the specified functions. For example, thedescribed embodiments can employ various integrated circuit components,e.g., memory elements, processing elements, logic elements, look-uptables, and the like, which can carry out a variety of functions underthe control of one or more microprocessors or other control devices.Similarly, where the elements of the described embodiments areimplemented using software programming or software elements, the systemsand techniques can be implemented with any programming or scriptinglanguage such as C, C++, Java, assembler, or the like, with the variousalgorithms being implemented with a combination of data structures,objects, processes, routines, or other programming elements. Functionalaspects can be implemented in algorithms that execute on one or moreprocessors. Furthermore, the embodiments of the systems and techniquescould employ any number of conventional techniques for electronicsconfiguration, signal processing or control, data processing, and thelike. The words “mechanism” and “element” are used broadly and are notlimited to mechanical or physical embodiments, but can include softwareroutines in conjunction with processors, etc.

Implementations or portions of implementations of the above disclosurecan take the form of a computer program product accessible from, forexample, a computer-usable or computer-readable medium. Acomputer-usable or computer-readable medium can be any device that can,for example, tangibly contain, store, communicate, or transport aprogram or data structure for use by or in connection with anyprocessor. The medium can be, for example, an electronic, magnetic,optical, electromagnetic, or a semiconductor device. Other suitablemediums are also available. Such computer-usable or computer-readablemedia can be referred to as non-transitory memory or media, and caninclude RAM or other volatile memory or storage devices that can changeover time. A memory of an apparatus described herein, unless otherwisespecified, does not have to be physically contained by the apparatus,but is one that can be accessed remotely by the apparatus, and does nothave to be contiguous with other memory that might be physicallycontained by the apparatus.

The word “example” is used herein to mean serving as an example,instance, or illustration. Any aspect or design described herein as“example” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred oradvantageous over other aspects or designs. Rather, use of the word“example” is intended to present concepts in a concrete fashion. As usedin this application, the term “or” is intended to mean an inclusive “or”rather than an exclusive “or”. That is, unless specified otherwise orclearly indicated otherwise by the context, the statement “X includes Aor B” is intended to mean any of the natural inclusive permutationsthereof. For example, if X includes A; X includes B; or X includes bothA and B, then “X includes A or B” is satisfied under any of theforegoing instances. In addition, the articles “a” and “an” as used inthis application and the appended claims should generally be construedto mean “one or more” unless specified otherwise; or clearly indicatedotherwise by the context to be directed to a singular form. Moreover,use of the term “an implementation” or the term “one implementation”throughout this disclosure is not intended to mean the same embodimentor implementation unless described as such.

The particular implementations shown and described herein areillustrative examples of the systems and techniques and are not intendedto otherwise limit the scope of the systems and techniques in any way.For the sake of brevity, conventional electronics, control systems,software development, and other functional aspects of the systems (andcomponents of the individual operating components of the systems) cannotbe described in detail. Furthermore, the connecting lines, orconnectors, shown in the various figures presented are intended torepresent example functional relationships or physical or logicalcouplings between the various elements. Many alternative or additionalfunctional relationships, physical connections, or logical connectionscan be present in a practical device. Moreover, unless otherwiseindicated, no item or component has to be included in order to practicethe systems and techniques described herein.

The use of the terms “including,” “comprising,” “having,” or variationsthereof herein is meant to encompass the items listed thereafter andequivalents thereof as well as additional items. Unless specified orlimited otherwise, the terms “mounted,” “connected,” “supported,”“coupled,” and variations thereof are used broadly and encompass bothdirect and indirect mountings, connections, supports, and couplings.Further, “connected” and “coupled” are not restricted to physical ormechanical connections or couplings.

The use of the terms “a,” “an,” and “the,” and similar referents in thecontext of describing the systems and techniques (especially in thecontext of the following claims) should be construed to cover both thesingular and the plural. Furthermore, unless otherwise indicated herein,the recitation of ranges of values herein is merely intended to serve asa shorthand alternative to referring individually to each separate valuefalling within the range, and each separate value is incorporated intothe specification as if it were individually recited herein. Finally,the operations of all techniques described herein are performable in anysuitable order unless otherwise indicated herein or clearly indicatedotherwise by the context. The use of any and all examples, or exemplarylanguage (e.g., “such as”), provided herein is intended merely to betterilluminate the systems and techniques and does not pose a limitation onthe scope of the systems and techniques unless otherwise claimed.

All references, including publications, patent applications, andpatents, cited herein are hereby incorporated by reference to the sameextent as if each reference were individually and specifically indicatedas incorporated by reference and were set forth in its entirety herein.

The above-described embodiments have been described in order tofacilitate easy understanding of the present systems and techniques, andsuch descriptions of such implementations do not limit the presentsystems and techniques. To the contrary, the present systems andtechniques are intended to cover various modifications and equivalentarrangements included within the scope of the appended claims, whichscope is to be accorded the broadest interpretation as is permitted bylaw so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalentarrangements.

The techniques presented and claimed herein are referenced and appliedto material objects and concrete examples of a practical nature thatdemonstrably improve the present technical field and, as such, are notabstract, intangible or purely theoretical. Further, if any claimsappended to the end of this specification contain one or more elementsdesignated as “means for [perform]ing [a function] . . . ” or “step for[perform]ing [a function] . . . ”, it is intended that such elements areto be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f). However, for any claimscontaining elements designated in any other manner, it is intended thatsuch elements are not to be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f).

1-20. (canceled)
 21. A system, comprising: one or more hardwareprocessors; and a non-transitory memory, the non-transitory memorystoring instructions that, when executed by the one or more hardwareprocessors, cause the one or more hardware processors to performoperations comprising: identifying a first resource and a secondresource of a plurality of resources within a computer network inresponse to performance of a network discovery of the computer network,wherein the first resource originates from a first provider of aplurality of providers, and wherein the second resource originates froma second provider different from the first provider; receiving, via agraphical user interface (GUI), inputs selecting the first resource, thesecond resource, and a descriptor for the first resource and the secondresource, wherein the descriptor is associated with metadata; andupdating a configuration management database (CMDB) to reflect anassignment of the metadata to the first resource and the second resourcebased on the selected descriptor, wherein the metadata comprises anassociation of the first resource and the second resource to aparameter.
 22. The system of claim 21, the operations comprisingdetermining that the first resource and the second resource are notinitially associated with the metadata.
 23. The system of claim 22,wherein determining that the first resource and the second resource arenot initially associated with the metadata comprises: determining thatthe first resource and the second resource are associated withnoncompliant metadata that is not appropriate for the first resource andthe second resource, respectively; determining that the metadata isincomplete; determining that no metadata is associated with the firstresource and the second resource; or determining that the first resourceand the second resource are associated with metadata requiringmodification; or or a combination thereof.
 24. The system of claim 21,wherein the GUI comprises: a first field comprising a plurality ofselectable entries corresponding to the plurality of resources; and asecond field comprising a plurality of entries corresponding to arespective descriptor of a plurality of descriptors.
 25. The system ofclaim 21, wherein the GUI comprises a drop down menu, a field, or aselectable icon, or any combination thereof, configured to receive theinputs selecting the first resource, the second resource, or thedescriptor, or any combination thereof.
 26. The system of claim 21, theoperations comprising: generating configuration item data comprising afirst association between the first resource and the metadata, and asecond association between the first resource and the metadata; andstoring the configuration item data in the CMDB.
 27. The system of claim26, the operations comprising: determining which of the plurality ofresources matches the configuration item data based on a comparisonbetween the plurality of resources and the configuration item data, andassociating the metadata with a matching resource of the plurality ofresources based on the comparison between the plurality of resources andthe configuration item data.
 28. The system of claim 21, the operationscomprising: grouping the first resource and the second resource based onthe parameter.
 29. The system of claim 28, wherein the first resourceand the second resource are grouped into one or more platform agnosticgroups based on the parameter, and wherein the parameter is associatedwith at least one of a provider of the plurality of providers, a costcenter, a department, a project, a service, an application, and a user.30. A method, comprising: identifying a first resource and a secondresource of a plurality of resources within a computer network inresponse to performance of a network discovery of the computer network,wherein the first resource originates from a first provider of aplurality of providers, and wherein the second resource originates froma second provider different from the first provider; receiving, via agraphical user interface (GUI) inputs selecting the first resource, thesecond resource, and a descriptor for the first resource and the secondresource, wherein the descriptor is associated with metadata; andupdating a configuration management database (CMDB) to reflect anassignment of the metadata to the first resource and the second resourcebased on the selected descriptor, wherein the metadata comprises anassociation of the first resource and the second resource to aparameter.
 31. The method of claim 30, the operations comprisingdetermining that the first resource and the second resource are notinitially associated with the metadata.
 32. The method of claim 31,wherein determining that the first resource and the second resource arenot initially associated with the metadata comprises: determining thatthe first resource and the second resource are associated withnoncompliant metadata that is not appropriate for the first resource andthe second resource, respectively; determining that the metadata isincomplete; determining that no metadata is associated with the firstresource and the second resource; or determining that the first resourceand the second resource are associated with metadata requiringmodification; or or a combination thereof.
 33. The method of claim 30,comprising: generating configuration item data comprising a firstassociation between the first resource and the metadata, and a secondassociation between the first resource and the metadata; storing theconfiguration item data in the CMDB; and determining which of theplurality of resources matches the configuration item data based on acomparison between the plurality of resources and the configuration itemdata, and associating the metadata with a matching resource of theplurality of resources based on the comparison between the plurality ofresources and the configuration item data.
 34. The method of claim 30,comprising: grouping the first resource and the second resource based onthe parameter.
 35. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprisingcomputer readable code, that when executed by one or more processors,causes the one or more processors to perform operations comprising:identifying a first resource and a second resource of a plurality ofresources within a computer network in response to performance of anetwork discovery of the computer network, wherein the first resourceoriginates from a first provider of a plurality of providers, andwherein the second resource originates from a second provider differentfrom the first provider; receiving, a graphical user interface (GUI),inputs selecting the first resource, the second resource, and adescriptor for the first resource and the second resource, wherein thedescriptor is associated with metadata; and updating a configurationmanagement database (CMDB) to reflect an assignment of the metadata tothe first resource and the second resource based on the selecteddescriptor, wherein the metadata comprises an association of the firstresource and the second resource to a parameter.
 36. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 35, the operations comprisingdetermining that the first resource and the second resource are notinitially associated with the metadata, comprising: determining that thefirst resource and the second resource are associated with noncompliantmetadata that is not appropriate for the first resource and the secondresource, respectively; determining that the metadata is incomplete;determining that no metadata is associated with the first resource andthe second resource; or determining that the first resource and thesecond resource are associated with metadata requiring modification; oror a combination thereof.
 37. The non-transitory computer-readablemedium of claim 35, the operations comprising: generating configurationitem data comprising a first association between the first resource andthe metadata, and a second association between the first resource andthe metadata; and storing the configuration item data in the CMDB. 38.The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 37, the operationscomprising: determining which of the plurality of resources matches theconfiguration item data based on a comparison between the plurality ofresources and the configuration item data, and associating the metadatawith a matching resource of the plurality of resources based on thecomparison between the plurality of resources and the configuration itemdata.
 39. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 35, theoperations comprising: grouping the first resource and the secondresource based on the parameter.
 40. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 39, wherein the first resource and thesecond resource are grouped into one or more platform agnostic groupsbased on the parameter, and wherein the parameter is associated with atleast one of a provider of the plurality of providers, a cost center, adepartment, a project, a service, an application, and a user.